Monday, February 13, 2012

WWII Poland READING LIST

This bibliography is dedicated to all in Poland who suffered so much and fought so hard during WWII:
-- All those Poles (millions) who were killed
-- All those Poles who lived through untold horrors in their towns and cities and in concentration and death and slavery camps both in Germany and the Soviet Union
-- All those Poles who fought so bravely within Poland in the largest resistance group of WWII and those who fought with the Allied forces to free Poland
-- All those Poles who are among the "Righteous Among the Nations"
-- All those Poles who lost their country and found refuge throughout the free world (the Polish diaspora)
May the World NEVER Forget

Most of the books below (now over 170 in number) can be found on Amazon or other sites where you can read reviews of the books. Remember you can usually request your local library to get most of these books for you through regional booklending agreements.

This list has been one of the focal points, and a collaborative effort of, the 880 (and growing) members of the Facebook Group "The Way Back -- Unknown Stories of WWII Poland".

We invite you to join us in our Group where other lists, such as lists of related movies, documentaries, youtubes, and other materials can be found. We also have regular inputs from authors, poets, film makers, and other members including some lively, very interesting debates once in a while.

If you know of other books that you think should be added, let us know.

This list includes some works of historical fiction, but the great majority on the list are nonfiction.

It is time that the full story of WWII Poland become better known outside of Poland. The story of Poland during WWII is unique. It can be terribly depressing while at the same time, incredibly inspirational--that any nation any absorb so much death and misery and destruction just 70 years ago and someway get back to the fully functioning and thriving country that Poland now represents.

As more people become aware of the full story, it is hoped that some will take that story to your local book clubs, schools, and universities.

Part of one of the titles on this list (#173) says it all on how the people of Poland reacted to their WWII nightmare:
"With Great Bravery and Sacrifice"

1. The Ice Road: An Epic Journey from the Stalinist Labor Camps to Freedom, by Stefan Waydenfeld

2. When God Looked the Other Way: An Odyssey of War, Exile, and Redemption by Wesley Adamczyk

22. I Saw Poland Betrayed: An American ambassador reports to the American people (The Americanist library) by Arthur Bliss Lane

23. No Greater Ally: The Untold Story of Poland’s Forces in World War II, by Kenneth K. Koskodan

24. Dupes: How America’s Adversaries Have Manipulated Progressives for a Century. Paul Kengor

25. Books by NORMAN DAVIES: Europe at War 1939-1945 Europe: A History; Rising ’44: The Battle for Warsaw; White Eagle, Red Star: The Polish-Soviet War 1919-20; God’s Playground: A History of Poland (Volume I &26. Volume II); Heart of Europe: A Short History of Poland; No Simple Victory: World War II in Europe, 1939-1945

27. Stalin and the Poles; An Indictment of the Soviet Leaders, by Bronislaw Kusnierz

140. War in the Shadow of Auschwitz: Memoirs of a Polish Resistance Fighter and Survivor of the Death Camps (Religion,Theology & the Holocaust) (Religion, Theology and the Holocaust), by John Wiernicki

176. The Samaritans: Heroes of the Holocaust, by Wladyslaw Bartoszewski and Zofia Lewin, 1966

177. The Encyclopedia of the Righteous Among the Nations: Rescuers of Jews During the Holocaust, Volume II, by Sara Bender and Shmuel Krakowski, eds., 2004

178. Without Vodka: Adventures in Wartime Russia, by Aleksander Topolski, 2001 (will be followed by Without A Roof: WAR--A Polish Soldier's Adventures in the Middle East and Italy During World War II, in September, 2012,by Rebis publishers in Poznan, in Polish as Bez Dachu.)

16 comments:

Great List! A big Thank you for putting it together!If it is not on alist, please add: Forgotten Holocaust. The Poles under German Occupation 1939-1944 by Richard Lukasand: Forgotten Survivors. Polish Christians Remember the Nazi occupation - edited by Richard Lukas

Thanks Krystna. It is good to know that the list is getting a little more "publicity". It has been a collaborative effort from the start with many suggestions along the way. I hope to soon put together a presentation and start taking it to local schools on what I have discovered in reading many (not all) of these books.

It is indeed an excellent list. It would be even better if you included "Without Vodka: Adventures in Wartime Russia" by Aleksander Topolski, 2001. It was published in Poland last September (2011) as "Biez Wodki" and won an honour award from the prestigious Rachynski Library. In September (2012) Rebis publishers in Poznan will publish the sequel: "Without A Roof: WAR-- A Polish soldier's adventures in the Middle East and Italy during World War II" in Polish as "Bez Dachu". You will learn more about Topolski's experiences in Soviet prisons and the Gulag at http://withoutvodka.com -- Joan Eddis-Topolski

Thanks Joan....your suggested titles have been added. I'll also try to remember to add the web site to the list we keep on our facebook group "The Way Back -- Unknown Stories of WWII Poland" . Congratulations on the award from the Rachynski Library!

There is no mention of the Polish Jewish men who, when they were allowed to do so - while exiled in Russia - formed the Wanda Wasilewska Brigade. They fought valiantly under the command of General Rokossovski, and with great sacrifice, contributed to the rout of the German forces. My father, O"H, Leon (Leybush) Krakowski (1915 - 1996), a tailor from Lodz, held the rank of Plutovny in this Brigade.

Please add to the list 3 more books:*Aleksandra Ziolkowska-Boehm: The Polish Experience through World War II. A Better Day Has not Come, 2015;*Aleksandra Ziolkowska-Boehm: Polish Hero Roman Rodziewicz Fate of a Hubal Soldier in Auschwitz, Buchenwald, and Postwar England, 2017;*Lynne Olson, Last Hope Island, 2017.